Two very special holidays are approaching, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day; The striking thing about this year 2024 is that in both cases, it is possible to get some ‘bridges’ if we take a couple of days of vacation. That is the reason why Spanish roads are going to be full of cars these days, more than usual; and also the reason why we must take extreme caution on the road. Fortunately, Google Maps helps us.
Google Maps has become an essential complement for millions of drivers, whether they are using it directly on their mobile phone, or through Android Auto on the car’s touch screen. There are many reasons to use Maps while driving, and this year more have been added to the list; For example, Google Maps has gained features from Waze, another great app that is highly recommended for the car.
One of the most useful features of Google Maps is the radar warning. Indeed, the app will automatically tell us if we are approaching an area controlled by a DGT radar, although there are certain limitations and considerations to take into account.
To begin with, the notification is only available if we have activated a route with voice directions; In this way, the app does not want to distract us and make us constantly look at the screen.
Another important detail to keep in mind is that Google Maps It will only warn of the DGT’s fixed radars when we are up and running, due to legal limitations in Spain. However, the app also registers mobile radars, although they will not generate a voice warning when we are driving; Therefore, it is advisable to check before starting the route and always stay below the speed limit of each road.
Fixed speed cameras in Google Maps and police warnings and mobile radars
The Free Android
To see the speed cameras on the map, all we have to do is change the layer that Google Maps shows. To do this, we must click on the upper right button in the app, which shows the different layers, and activate the ‘Traffic’ layer. Fixed radars are represented with the orange icon of a camera; while Mobile radars are characterized by the blue icon.
One of the latest developments in Google Maps is that the app is now interconnected with Waze and its notifications; therefore, we can receive notifications from the Waze community and vice versa. This means that Google Maps now has a new menu to notify other users of incidents that we have found.
During our route, on the Google Maps screen we will see a new icon of a warning symbol; If we press it, we will find a list of events, including collision, retention, or works. In addition, we can also add an ‘incident’ warning of a mobile radar, in addition to the presence of the police. Let us remember that the DGT has announced fines for WhatsApp groups that warn of police controlsbut for the moment, it seems that Google Maps is not affected.
